Family matters
by BirdInSkies
Summary: In mere seconds he walked into the hallway and as his eyes followed my hand to little girl beside me, he stopped. "Congratulations, honey, you're a father."
1. Chapter 1

Another fanfic from Night Huntess universe and this one isn't a one shot. At first I planned to keep it short, but I couldn't write two pages and stop. But I'm not sure how many chapter will there be, so be ready for anything. So, I hope you'll like it.

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I ran down the stairs to what seemed to be a dungeon, god I was starting to hate those shitholes. Not only were they dark, which wasn't a problem for a vampire like me, but the smell would make a human puke his insides out.

So I wasn't surprised to open the third door and find the human residence of the mansion dead, their rotting corpses lying in their own blood and judging by the smell, vomit and shit. How glad I was not to be a human right now.

My vampire hearing caught a quiet sobbing behind the next metal door. I rolled my eyes, I had enough killing for today. Maybe I really should've let the rest of the team clear this floor. Never turn down a volunteer, I'll remember that for the next time.

I had no other choice than to brace my senses and break the door open, revealing the small empty room with four walls and one bed on the right side. I was ready to counter against any kind of attack, but nothing happened. My eyes trailed the room, fixing at the small creature sitting on the floor next to bed, trembling.

A little girl lifted her eyes that blazed with green, but not from anger but from fear. She was so scared that her vampire self revealed itself as a defense mechanism. I gave out a desperate sigh, I could handle master vampires trying to rip my throat open or pierce my hearth with silver in the most painful way, but one thing I couldn't handle were kids, let alone crying kids.

But I knew I couldn't leave her here and the cleaning team that would come here afterwards would kill her without hesitation. So I inhaled the foul smell, ignoring its effects on my inner organs, and walked slowly towards the kid.

"Hey, little one, you okay?" I tried to speak in the sweetest voice I could make, which almost made me as sick as the stink around me. The girl didn't answer, she hugged her knees tighter. I noticed that she was wearing a shirt made for a grown up man and it was stained with blood and torn at some places.

"All right, I don't have time for this so, let's cut it short. My name is Cat and I'm not here to hurt you, we came to kill the bad vampires." I stopped when I realized what I just said and rephrased, "Only the bad vampires, so I'm not gonna hurt you."

She finally lifted her eyes to look into mine and with a shaking voice asked, "You're a cat?"

It took me a while to understand what she just said, but when I did I couldn't hold back a laugh, "No, I'm not. My name is Cat, as in Catherine." I explained and added, "What's your name?"

She gulped hard, "Ash, as in Ashley."

"I like it, easy to remember, nice to meet you, Ash." I said and extended my hand. She looked at it and hesitated, but after a while she took it. Her hand was small and skinny and as she came closer to me, I had to kneel in front of her to meet her gaze. She couldn't have more than ten years. I couldn't imagine what she must feel like, being a vampire in such a young age.

"So, what do you say, wanna come with me?" I asked with a smile and she nodded, though I could tell she still didn't trust me. But she was a smart kid, she didn't see any other option but to follow me. So she followed behind me, keeping her distance but after few steps I noticed how difficult it was for her to keep her balance. I bet she wasn't fed enough. I took her in my arms and lifted her off the ground. She was light as a feather. Her head was resting on my shoulder in mere seconds.

When I walked out of the dungeon, I noticed that her muscles tensed immediately. Shem must've felt the presence of other vampires around. I wasn't quite sure what to do in this kind of situation, sure it was easy with humans but how do you calm a vampire kid?

"What do you have there, querida, you adopting?" asked Juan half jokingly and I shot a cold glance at him. Ash looked at him and her grip around my neck tightened.

"He's a friend, Ash, don't worry." I reassured her and she relaxed a little. I motioned Juan to the door and he nodded. The rest of the team was probably in the helicopter now, I could feel them close by. Ash was quiet all the way outside and I noticed that she actually fell asleep in my arms. I only hoped I wouldn't need to take care of her more than was really necessary. Sure, Bones wouldn't mind, but I don't consider getting attached to a kid vampire a good idea.

Ash shifted in her sleep. I felt the eyes of my team members on her and I gave them an icy stare. I was well aware of their thoughts, they were wondering what was I gonna do with the kid, but hell if I knew. There wasn't anything like orphanage for vampires, or was there? I had to ask Bones about that one.

"Why don't you keep her?" asked Juan all of a sudden and I raised my eyebrows at him. It was hard to picture me with a human kid, I wouldn't dare try to take care of a vampire one.

"First, Juan, she's not a pet and second, I couldn't possibly let her live with us. There's always someone after my ass, I can't put her in danger." But I would be lying to say that I didn't consider the idea. "And besides, it's a bad environment to raise a kid."

I heard Tate laugh beside me but he was quiet as soon as my boot found his leg.

"But what are your options? You can't leave her with us either." stated Tate and I let out a sigh. He was right, I couldn't, but what else was there, Spade and Denise? I guess Denise wouldn't mind but considering her being a shapeshifter, the kid had enough traumas in her life. My mother wasn't an option, at all, I can already picture her freaking out about another vampire in her life. No one else was close by and god help me if I wanted to give her to Vlad, he's protective and all that and although it could be a hilarious experience, he considered me a friend and I wanted to keep it that way.

"Come on, admit it, you have no other choice but to look after her, for the time being." Juan's voice pulled me back to reality. He had a suspicious smile on his face, like he was seriously having fun with this whole thing. I would kick his ass if we weren't in the air.

But I had to admit that he was right. I was getting into another mess again and I couldn't even think of Bones' reaction to this. How was I going to tell him anyway?

Few minutes later I was standing in front of our door, hesitating to open them. I took a quick glance at Ash, who stood close to me, holding my hand. I gave her a wry smile and pushed open the door.

"I'm home, Bones." I said aloud, even though I knew he could feel me coming miles away. But I needed to get his attention somehow. In mere seconds he walked into the hallway and as his eyes followed my hand to little girl beside me, he stopped.

"Congratulations, honey, you're a father."


	2. Chapter 2

"Congratulations, honey, you're a father." I gave him the widest smile I could, considering the situation, but I couldn't keep a straight face for long, because his expression was priceless. I could tell that he was actually considering the fact of two vampires having a child and the fact that she was ten or that she was a vampire didn't seem to matter to him.

"Blimey, kitten, this calls for celebration." his expression changed in next instant, and this time it was me whose mouth hung open. I couldn't say anything even after he walked towards me and kissed my forehead with a cheerful grin on his lips.

_Nice one, Bones, but please, cut the fucking act, this is serious._ I didn't need to say those words aloud, I knew he'd hear me, because I dropped my mental defenses.

He laughed, "I bet it is, pet. But I don't think I'm the right person to explain how can a vampire bear a child, whose ten years old by the way."

"Bones, don't fu-" I started but Bones slammed his lips over mine.

Then he pulled away quickly, motioning to Ash, "Not in front of the little one, Kitten."

I rubbed my forehead with my free hand, wondering if hitting my husband would also be considered as inappropriate in front of her. I shook my head dismissing the thought, what the fuck did I care, she wasn't our child.

Ash shifted on her feet nervously, hiding behind my leg even more. I raised my eyebrows at Bones and he shrugged his shoulders.

"You'll give her a heart attack, Bones. Wait, you can't." I remembered that she was a vampire, "But you get my point." I finished quickly.

"Sorry, Kitten, just having some fun." Bones apologized. "So, care to share the story?"

"But first, she needs to eat something." I said and Bones nodded.

In few minutes, Ash was sitting behind our kitchen table, clean and with new clothes that Bones bought while she was taking a bath. But looking at the white shirt and dark jeans she was wearing, I decided that next time I'll be the one doing the shopping.

While she was drinking blood with straw, and god I've never seen drinking blood being so cute, I told Bones what happened. He listened quietly and leaned back in his chair afterwards while watching Ash, drinking her third glass of blood.

"I don't mind keeping her here for the time being, Kitten, but I'll try to find someone to take care of her." Bones agreed with me on that matter and I nodded. "So what do you say, little one?" he directed the question to Ash who shrugged and shifted nervously on the chair.

She nodded, her ash blond hair falling to her eyes, she wanted to brush them off but Bones, sitting right next to her was quicker. He brushed the hair behind her ear, but he must've noticed her scared reaction because he hesitated. Then he smiled and ruffled her hair lightly. Ash opened her eyes and looked at him, then gave out a soft laugh.

I took her to an empty guest room, which wasn't far from ours. Even though vampires didn't need much sleep, she was the most sleep deprived vampire I've ever seen. As soon as I tucked her in, she closed her eyes while whispering a quiet "thank you" and "good night".

When I returned to our room, I found Bones already sitting in bed, deep in thoughts. Seeing him like this somewhat made me sad. He probably read her thoughts before, when she pulled back from him at the table. I was curious about it, so I asked him.

"The only time someone touched her was to beat her up, that's what I saw. She thought I was going to hit her." Bones spoke quietly for some reason, even though our walls were soundproof.

The anger in his voice rose, "Bloody bastards, changing little kids like her. How can she live her life like this? She's never going to grow up."

"I take it there aren't many vampire kids." I stated and Bones shot a cold look at me. I shrugged.

"Of course there aren't, and if there are, they rather choose death." he replied in calmer voice, but I could tell he was holding a lot of rage back. He ran a hand through his hair, "Too bad I wasn't there to rip those sods apart myself."

"They got what was coming to them, don't worry. And there weren't any other vampire kids there, I'm sure of it." I said and joined Bones in bed. He placed his hand on my tight and nodded in satisfaction. I can imagine what he'd to those vampires if he was there and it wouldn't be pretty.

"You had a rough day, Kitten, get some rest." he said minute later and placed a kiss on my lips. I nodded in agreement and rested my head on my chest.

I don't remember when exactly I fell asleep but I woke up to a loud cry. My eyes were wide awake in instant, looking around the room. Bones wasn't here anymore. I rolled out of bed and ran to Ash's room.


	3. Chapter 3

I rolled out of bed and ran to Ash's room. Bones was sitting on her bed, with Ash in his arms. She was shaking, frightened.

I didn't do it before because I respect people's privacy, but I couldn't hold back this time. Her thoughts were all around the place, I couldn't clearly hear what she was thinking about, but a few words caught my attention.

_She was lying on the floor after being newly turned into a vampire and a man stood above her. He didn't help her, only watched her while she struggled to keep her hunger to minimum. She couldn't, obviously. Only one blood bag was placed next to her, empty and torn to pieces but that alone couldn't feed her hunger. And the man only laughed, then turned around and left._

Bones must've heard it too, his eyes blazed with green, but he controlled himself. He hugged ash around her tiny body. I didn't know what to do, I could only watch her but Bones motioned to sit next to her, so I did. Her hand immediately found mind, wrapping her fingers around mine.

We both stayed with her until she fell asleep again and when Bones made sure than no nightmares would haunt her this time, we left.

"How could they leave her like that?" I asked mostly for myself when we were sitting in the kitchen. Bones' eyes found mine, his expression was as stone, and he didn't let his emotions show.

"You read her thoughts before, didn't you?" I waited for his answer, but he only nodded. Either he didn't want to say it out loud, or he couldn't. But he was aware of the fact that I could also read minds now and he let me.

_That man you saw, was her father. He was the one beating her up all that time, she's scared of him. _

I processed the new information, clenching my fists together so hard that my knuckles were white. "I killed him." I said in the end, "I remember him, put up quite a fight, but he won't be anymore."

"Good." replied Bones with predatory smile, "Wouldn't have it any other way."

"But Bones, remember, we can't let stay here for long." I said, knowing Bones for too long to know what he was thinking without reading his thoughts. "I know you want to make sure that she's taken care of, but she'll face even more danger around us. We can't risk that and you know it, as well as I do."

He listened, than rubbed his face with one hand, not meeting my gaze. "I know, Kitten. Don't worry about me. But don't get attached yourself, it's hard to let go then. Remember your mother?"

You just had to bring my mother into this, didn't you Bones? But I admit, he was right, because no matter what I did, she still cared for me in her own way. She didn't give up on me when I married Bones or when I became a fully turned vampire.

"You know I'm not good with children, Bones." I said after a while, meeting his raised eyebrows. I shrugged my shoulders, but he only laughed.

"We'll see if that's true when all this is over."

"Oh, shut up, Bones." I turned my eyes away from his, blocking my thoughts away.

Ash seemed to be doing way better the next day, she even said more than three words in the morning, which seemed like progress to me. And it was only a matter of time before she started asking basic questions like, who we are, what do we do, and even whether I'm really not a cat, since Bones keeps calling me "Kitten" or "pet". I was seriously getting worried about my reputation here.

But Bones and I, we refrained from asking anything about her past until she started talking on her own. Maybe she wouldn't in the end, but putting more pressure on her and recalling her memories was not our style.

As we spend the rest of the morning to Ash, we realized she doesn't know much about vampires and boy was she eager to learn a thing or two about them. This is when Bones came to be really handy, since he lived a couple hundreds of years and I didn't. The only thing I could do, was to call a few numbers that Bones gave me, find someone who wanted to adopt a 10 year old vampire girl whose haunted by nightmares of her past and can have occasional breakdown, though I didn't mention that one in any of those phone calls.

I was just about to call the fifth number on my list when I heard Bones' voice from the living room, calling my name. I got afraid that something happened to Ash, but she was sitting next to Bones, reading a book, probably about vampires or something like that, though I hoped that there were books describing vampires better than Twilight.

"Don't tell me you called _him_." said Bones and his voice sounded angry. I shrugged my shoulders because I had no idea what he was talking about. He rolled his eyes and motioned to the door. I looked that way and after few seconds, the door flew open and my mouth hung open.

"What the f-, uh, hell are you doing here?" I asked after I regained my senses again. From all the people that could make their appearance at time like this, Vlad surely wasn't one of them.

"I can say I was in the neighborhood, but that wouldn't be original." he replied with a devilish smile. "It seemed I picked a wonderful time to show up. I guess congratulations are in order?"

"Oh, jesus christ, fucking twice." I rubbed my forehead, referring to Bones' reaction, which Vlad didn't know about, but I immediately slammed a hand across my mouth and looked at Ash, whose ears were covered by Bones' hands and judging by the look in his eyes, he was trying to set me on fire with them. God was he taking this seriously.

"You'll be a great mother, Catherine." Vlad stood next to me, patting me on my shoulder and I was regretting that my left backhand missed when he said my name.

"Vlad Tepesh?" Our eyes were now focused on Ash, who had a wide smile on her face as if she was meeting a celebrity from her favorite movie. When she noticed our surprised faces, she lowered her head and apologized, as if feeling guilty of breaking someone's favorite vase.

Bones was first to react, "How do you know of him?" he asked Ash, who still seemed to be afraid of a beating. Bones placed a hand on her shoulder, showing her that she had nothing to worry about.

"They used to talk about him, say how…annoying he can be." she paused but then continued quickly, "But they said he's too strong and burned many of their men. I sometimes imagined that he came to save me."

If she wasn't a vampire she'd probably be blushing, I found it really cute. Vlad laughed next to me, at first I wondered why but then I looked at Bones, who frowned at Vlad and his eyes were icy.

"You have a long way to go." Vlad's words were directed at Bones. "But I see my reputation precedes me, trust me princess, if I knew you were held by those trolls I'd come to save you from the dungeon on a white horse."

I rolled my eyes when he bowed to add a little fire to his act. Ash smiled and nodded, but then she looked at me and without a warning ran to hug me. I flinched, not used to being hugged by children. My eyes sought help at Vlad and Bones, but they both just shrugged their shoulders with a smile.

"It's alright because Cat saved me, she's my new hero." said Ash and I couldn't notice the laugh that Vlad held back. I shot him a cold glare. Bones on the other hand seemed to be pleased by the turn of events, good for him. The last thing I needed was to organize a duel between those two just to see who more of a hero material was. It certainly wasn't me, but I wasn't going to shatter her illusions and I hoped Vlad wouldn't either.

In the end, Vlad's arrival turned out to be useful, because their seemed to be cases of children turned into vampires in Romania, though I hated the thought of sending Ashley so far away, and Bones hated the thought of leaving her with Vlad, but for now if was something worth considering. Vlad assured us that he could find at least five families who'd take her in.

But I wasn't sure that Bones was ready to part with her just yet, or maybe it was me who wanted to get to know her better, because in some way, she reminded me of myself. After all she's been through, she didn't let it show, only her nightmares betrayed her.


	4. Chapter 4

Ash was trashing on her bed, she was having another nightmare. In this one, she was fighting a grown up man, a vampire so much older than her. She couldn't win, but she tried hard to get up on her feet every time he forced her to the ground, because if she didn't, she'd just get beaten up later anyway.

I shook her shoulder, lightly at first but when she didn't respond, I shook harder. Her hand flew to my neck, wrapping her tiny fingers around my windpipe with strength I couldn't sense from her before. When her eyes opened, she let go of me in second, her eyes widened in shock. She apologized at least twelve times before I could stop her with a laugh.

"I'll have to watch my back from now on." I joked but she shook her head with fear and apologized once more. I put my hand on her head and ruffled her ash blonde hair, making them messier than they already were.

It was Bones' gesture that seemed to calm her down, and no doubt too because every time someone reached out his hand to her, it was only to punish her for something that wasn't even her fault. I was a half vampire before Bones turned me and every day it felt like my mother hated that part of me, even though the one to blame was my father. I didn't hate it, it made me stronger, it made me able to hunt those who hurt humans, it made a Red Reaper.

I shook my head, this was no time to dwell on the past. "So, what do say? Want to go out today?"

She looked at me, surprised flushed on her face, but she nodded. After all, there was nothing to do in the house and Bones was on his way to Romania with Vlad, he wanted to make sure personally that those vampire families were, and trust I knew that sending those two together wasn't the brightest idea.

"_The thing is Bones, I'm afraid that one of you will start a world war of vampires and I'll miss it." I said sarcastically. He laughed at my joke, but his tone didn't indicate that he was having fun with the idea, rather that he was actually considering it. _

"_As much as I hate the idea of going with that sod, I want to make sure she'll be taken care of, Kitten." he sounded more serious than ever, but still I couldn't help but think that there was something more behind it._

"_But what am I supposed to do with Ash? I never worked as a babysitter before and you know it."_

_He took my face into his hands, "You'll do fine, Kitten. Treat it like a hang out with a friend, who's a few years younger than you." _

_I raised my eyebrows at him, "Few years, Bones?" I frowned but then I realized something. "God, I feel so old compared to her."_

_A laugh escaped his lips. "And compared to me?" _

"_Point, Bones. But still, don't start calling me grandma or I'm taking a trip to Romania myself." I chuckled when I saw his hurt expression. He gave me a long kiss before he left and I was stuck in the house with Ash. _

Since then I was wondering where to take her and every now and then I turned on the tv, just to see whether Bones and Vlad wouldn't show on any news channel, trashing the cities of Romania. They didn't, for now, but they left only an hour ago, so there was still time for a major catastrophe to happen.

I tried to suppress all pessimistic thoughts figuring out a plan for Ash. Our first stop is definitely a shopping mall, or anything with clothes really. God knows what then, I can't take her to bar, can't take her to work, hopefully, an idea will hit me on the way.

Ash sat next to me in the car, tense as a guitar string. Her eyes kept trailing between faces of hundreds of people we drove by as she watched them with pure horror at first and then with interest. I kept one eye on the road and one on her at all time, thinking that she could actually disappear right from under my sight or just open the door and jump out of the car.

Thankfully she stayed in her seat, gripping the seatbelt. Seeing her like this, you couldn't even tell that she was a vampire, at least no one will suspect a thing. That is until I stop the car and she'll have to get out and walk among those many people, humans actually. Who knows what she'll do, maybe she'll go all vampire on them and bite everyone that comes her way.

That's why I was a little bit grateful when Juan greeted me with a raised hand as I parked the car. He looked happy to see us and I only hoped he was good with children, because me, not so much. I gave him a friendly hug, whispering a thank you in his ear. He patted my back in response and laughed.

But my lack of experience in children department wasn't the only reason I called him for today. When Bones left, I got a call from my team, saying that we missed some of the vampires in the house where they kept Ash. I actually hoped we might run into some of them and Ash would remember their faces, yeah, call me a bitch but it's our only shot of getting them before they took more children.

As I could see later on, Juan was actually pretty great with children and Ash remembered him from the house, which was a good thing. It made things easier and although Ash kept close to me, keeping a tighter grip on my hand than I expected, she kept a lively conversation with Juan.

"We could take her to the park, what do you, niña?" he asked Ash when we were finally walking out of the mall with our bags full of clothes for her. And although it wasn't how I usually spend my free time, I must say it was a nice change of pace, no hunting and killing supernatural creatures, just three of us hanging out.

"Won't it be full of kids at this time?" I replied, and Juan shrugged his shoulders, he didn't seem to mind it, but I wasn't referring to him. He made a silent "oh" when he realized.

"Nah, it's fine, we'll keep a safe distance from them." was his response and although hesitant, I agreed in the end.

When we reached the park and parked the car, I immediately tensed behind the steering wheel. I glanced at Juan, but he didn't seem to notice anything. I shrugged, thinking it was only my imagination, but when we took a stroll around, I couldn't help but keep my eyes peeled.

Even Juan noticed that something was wrong when we didn't see a single soul in the park. Ash was clinging to my shirt, something she didn't do for a while now and I noticed she started shaking as well. Too late I realized that I should've listened to my gut before in the car and drive away, now we were surrounded by at least seven vampires and I could swear I saw one of them dead back in the house.


	5. Chapter 5

They kept circling around us like hungry vultures, grinning at us. The fact that it was daylight didn't seem to matter to these guys, but I couldn't tell if they were cloaking their real strength or they were just weak. One thing I've learn through all these years, never underestimate an enemy. But on the other hand, the same goes for them.

I eyed Juan's gun, loaded with silver bullets that could slow the vampires down at the very least. But I wasn't sure about the last one, the one Bones saw in Ash's dreams, the one I could swear I stabbed with silver, or did I accidentally missed his heart? No, I wouldn't make such a stupid mistake.

"I killed you." I couldn't help but ask him. His smiled widened, showing wrinkles on his face, his slightly gray hair also indicated his older age and it made me wonder if he really was her father.

He hesitated before answering, his eyes were now fixed on Ash. She wasn't looking at him but at one moment, she jerked her head back, looking me straight into eyes. For some reason I couldn't tell what she was thinking, her mind seemed empty to me.

Her shaking hands let go of my shirt and she turned around, showing her back to me. I grabbed her arm when she started walking towards the vampires. She tried to pull her arm free and it worked for a short while, but luckily Juan grabbed her other hand and combining our strengths, we shoved her behind our backs. Ignoring the effort she put into getting around us, my eyes met with Juan's.

There was something seriously wrong here and I couldn't put my mind into it. Juan was already pointing his gun at the vampires, while I tried to figure things out.

"I came for what belongs to me." the man's voice was low, demanding. For a moment, I wanted to agree and give Ashley to him, but then I remembered that we were supposed to protect her.

"She doesn't belong to you, not anymore." I shot back at him, with less intensity than I was expecting. He laughed and his voice echoed in the park as much as it would in a cave, or was it only in my head? I couldn't tell anymore.

"Kill her." the man said and I immediately braced for a surprise attack by vampires. I turned my head just in time to notice the gun, aimed right at me. Juan pulled the trigger and a pain stabbed me in my stomach. My eyes widened in shock as much as his.

Silver bullet pierced trough my flesh and stayed buried inside, causing agonizing stabs of pain inside me. I dropped on my knees, right when other vampires jumped Juan, who dropped his gun on the ground in surprise. He fought with four vampires, while Ashley let out a scream next to me.

I turned my eyes to her, she tried to fight the vampires that surrounded her, but for some reason she stopped when her father approached her. I braced for more pain as I got back on my feet. It came, but not from the wound. One of the vampires dealt a few well laid hits and kicks into my body. I raised my arms in defense, but it was hard to see through the pain and tears that stung in my eyes.

Instinctively, I searched the ground for the gun, I found it in time to shoot the vampire in his head, stopping his next attack. I shifted myself into better position and shot his heart few times until he fell on the ground. I eyes Juan, who was having a hard time but lived for now, then I trailed the park, meeting Ash's frightened gaze.

I shot to my feet, charging forward but stopping right when I was close enough to grab her from the arms of her father. When he turned his head around, I couldn't move, only watch the smug smile on his lips as he walked away with her.

Another round of pain stabbed my stomach and I almost lost my balance when I took control of my movements again. But it was too late, Ashley was gone. I heard a yell from behind me, turning around, I dodged a vampire as he tried to tackle me, stabbing a silver knife in his heart I only now remembered I had, but why?

As the wound in my stomach tried to heal itself, it pushed the silver bullet out and I could finally move completely. I helped Juan fight the other vampires and when we were done, we both collapsed on the grass, tired.

None of us spoke for the longest minute in my life, going after Ashley was meaningless, we couldn't tell which way they went, almost if someone didn't want us to know.

"Mind control of some sort?" We were discussing possible abilities of Ashley's father, Juan's suggestion seemed to be the right one, but it was hard to believe. Bones and Vlad were already yon their way back, they were the only ones who could trace them, if it was even possible.

I hated waiting in the house while Ash could be in danger, and especially when I just had my ass kicked by a grandpa who couldn't be stronger than me. My fist landed on the table, Juan jumped back when it broke, guess I used too much strength.

"Relax, _querida_, we'll find them and rip that _pendejo_ to shreds." even though Juan's voice sounded calm, I could still see him backing away and couldn't hold back a laugh.

"You're right, Juan. We'll find them, soon." I sighed, slowly picking up the table's pieces, what a waste. Juan helped me clean the kitchen and not long after we were done, I felt a familiar energy in the air, growing stronger with every second. Bones was angry.

I was already making up excuses in my head, but loosing Ashley was a mistake that can't be excused. He left her in my care for few hours and I let that bastard take her. Bones charged through the door and I flinched, surprised to see him standing right in front of me. I was so distracted by my own thoughts that I forgot how fast he could be.

"Bones, I'm so so-" I tried to apologized but Bones cut the rest of the sentence with a quick kiss. I drew away, staring into his eyes with confusion.

"Are you alright, Kitten?" he asked, concerned. I nodded, not sure what just happened. Bones realized my confusion and laughed lowly, trying to ease the atmosphere, unsuccessfully.

"Hey, I'm fine, too, by the way." Juan noted silently and Bones walked to him to pat him on the back. "You sure hurried back, amigo."

Another voice came from the kitchen door, I turned my head to meet Vlad's gaze studying me, "Because we know who attacked you. But next time, don't call your husband, Cat, our plane almost crushed from how fast he wanted to return."

I looked back at Bones who shrugged, "That old chap you met earlier, he's a master vampire, with ability to control minds. Honestly, I've never heard of him, but Tepesh here heard of the lad from his contacts. Good thing, too, that he decided to ask around before we got to Romania, though I'd prefer he'd do it while we were still here,"

Bones shot an icy look at Vlad, "But can't do anything about that now. What we can do, is find Ash and give that shite a proper welcome." When Bones finished, I could almost see the fire burning in his eyes.

"But how do we find them? We don't even know which way they went." I tried to think back to the moment he took Ash and left, but for some reason I couldn't remember. "This is so frustrating."

"Just don't go breaking another table, Cat, that stuff is expensive." said Vlad, earning himself another cold glance, this time from me. "Besides, we're already working on find them, shouldn't take too long."

"Someone, somewhere must've have seen them. Using his ability doesn't come without consequences, he can't hide his power as well as he did before." added Bones and I finally relax. I trusted Bones with my eternal life, and god, we had the all mighty Dracula on our side. I was already beginning to feel sorry for the old man, he was going to regret getting in their way.


	6. Chapter 6

Did I ever doubt Bones? No, how could I, I mean, he kept his every word, no matter how impossible the task may have seemed. And Vlad cared about his friends more than anything, he'd never let me down either. Right now at this moment, staring at the five floor building in front of me, I was glad to have someone like them on my side.

Being able to track a master level vampire with a unique ability to control anyone's mind was not an easy task, and still they managed it like it was nothing. I couldn't hold back a smile anymore, but then I remembered that reason we were here was not a laughing matter and the smile froze on my lips.

"Are you sure he won't know about us?" I asked, turning to Bones who stood right next to me, burying his dark brown eyes into the building's structure as if trying to tear it down brick by brick. After a while, his cold gaze turned to me.

"He already knows we're here." he said calmly, "But he's too proud and thinks too much of himself to care. Besides, he doesn't know who we are, not yet anyway."

"So we're going in guns blazing? I like the plan, amigo." Juan laughed, checking his gun for the fifth time. I had mine strapped to my waist, actually, I had more of them, you can never be too careful. They were all loaded with silver bullets and I ready to waste every one of them on the bastard.

Vlad was also getting impatient, I could see him rubbing his hands together as the sparks flew on the ground, this was going to be entertaining. I was ready to walk inside when Bones' hand on my shoulder stopped me.

"I need you to listen to me, Kitten. Remember the fight in the park?" he asked and I nodded, shooting him a cold look. "You know firsthand that he can control your mind, and will do it again."

"Let him try, he caught me off guard last time." I shot back at him, he pursed his lips together, cutting off the rest I had on my tongue.

"You can't be in the same room, not as long as he's able to control you or Juan, you understand me? I won't let him control you, because I won't do anything to hurt you." his eyes bore into mine, "If he will control you, love, he will make you do something both of us will regret."

I understood what he meant by his words, the last time it Juan who was forced to shot me and he couldn't do shit about it. Bones would never do anything to hurt me, but if it came down to it, one of us would get hurt.

A deep sigh escaped my lungs as I covered his hands with mine, bringing them to my lips and kissing them. "I understand Bones, I'll let you handle him, but please, give him hell."

"I swear to you, Kitten, he'll regret crossing my path." he said in a low voice and gave a last kiss on my lips before we walked inside.

As soon as we were inside, we knew the building wasn't empty, low vampires covered every floor. We divided into two groups, me and Juan were assigned to clear the remaining floors while Bones and Vlad headed downstairs to confront the old man.

My mind was filled with different scenarios of the fight that took place below us. I couldn't help but feel left out, but right now I needed to keep my head in the game. There were more vampires in here than I imagined at first and they gave us quite a fight, no doubt they were forced to this. We were able to knock some of them out, but we couldn't save everyone.

After we were done, we headed down to meet with Bones and Vlad. I could hear the cries long before I charged through the door, ignoring Juan's advice to stand back. How could I? Ash was crying for help, shouting my name, I had to help her.

"So you came after all. I wondered if you'd listen to your husband and lay low as a good puppy that you are." I heard a familiar voice coming from next to Ash and soon understood I couldn't move, again. He let out a laugh, "This was actually easier than I thought."

"I'm not a puppy." I managed to say, but he didn't hear, or at least he pretended he didn't. "I'm not a puppy." I repeated, breaking his control over me to make a step forward.

He was taken aback, but recovered soon enough to gain control. "I'm surprised, you're stronger than you look, puppy. But it won't be enough. You have some powerful friends, but you all underestimated me."

"Where are they?" I asked and he shrugged.

"Who knows? I sent them on a rabbit chase, I guess they won't be back anytime soon." he laughed again. I turned my eyes to Ash. Her body was sprung as a string, no doubt she was being controlled by him as well, and the look in her eyes indicated, that she's given up hope.

"It's not over yet." I smiled, sensing the power in the air.

"She's no puppy, she's my Kitten and I don't take it kindly when someone threatens _my _Kitten." Bones spoke slowly, exaggerating the last three words as energy filled the room. I could feel his power brushing against me. I turned my eyes to look at him, but the next time I knew, I was holding a gun in my hand, pulling the trigger, shooting my husband right through his heart.


	7. Chapter 7

The gun shook in my hand, I could hardly keep the grip on it as my wide opened eyes followed the blood dripping on the floor. I heard a distant cry and a laugh, but my senses ignored them. My tears were getting wet from the tears and my mind was filled with only ifs.

I couldn't get a grasp on the situation, and my body took over my actions, dropping down on my knees, letting the gun finally fall on the ground. A loud ringing enveloped my sense of hearing, I slapped my hands against my ears, thinking it would stop, but it only got worse. And in between the ringing, I could occasionally hear a drumming noise.

My heart started beating, I closed my eyes to calm myself down but it seemed no matter what I did, I couldn't get the image of Bones covered in blood out of my head. Someone squeezed my shoulders and shook with me, brining me back to reality.

I recognized Vlad through my blurred vision, but seeing his face only made my misery worse. He was trying to comfort me, but it was useless. I killed Bones, I killed him and nothing can make it better, there's nothing that can change it. But I can't live without Bones, I won't live without him.

My eyes trailed across the ground until they found what they were looking for. It took me a moment to grasp it, but using my both hands, I had the gun in my hands again. I squeezed my eyes shut again as the drumming in my ears got stronger, faster and therefore, louder.

As I slowly brought the gun to my chest, someone's warm fingers wrapped around my hands, pulling the gun away. I jerked my hands back, shooting a cold glance at anyone who was trying to stop me. My eyes once again filled with tears when I realized that it was Bones now kneeling in front of me.

The gun dropped from my hands for the second time and my hands desperately shot towards his face, touching his features, his cheekbones, his lips, his perfect skin. Then I let them slide alongside his neck, stopping at his chest. No heartbeat and most importantly, no bullet hole, but that didn't prove anything.

Only once his lips found mine, I was absolutely sure that he was still alive. I fought to keep my eyes open, printing the image of his beautiful face into my mind, but as he deepened the kiss, my eyes closed and my hands touched his wet cheeks.

When Bones pulled back, I protested, feeling the need to hold him and never let go of him. I could tell he felt the same way, because even as he stood up and pulled me up with him, his hand never let go of mine.

"Like I promised, Kitten, we gave him hell." Bones' voice echoed in my head, putting another check mark on the list that would identify his as "alive".

Even though I hated to look away from him, my gaze shifted to the pile of bones and ashes lying on the ground only few steps away from us. This was without a doubt a work of Vlad, but as Bones explained, he only let him do the finishing touch.

"Bloody sod put up quite a fight, but he stood no chance in the end. Ashley is with Juan and Vlad and I suggest we also retreat to the car, there's still one matter to settle." He tightened the grip on my hand and led me outside, to where Vlad and Juan were quietly leaning against the car.

Juan was the first one to speak after we were outside, "Are you alright, querida?" I nodded at him, wiping the last traces of tears from my face. He walked towards us and gave me a hug. I returned it, letting go of Bones' hand for a short while.

Vlad approached me carefully, studying my expression. I managed a smile when his arms wrapped around me, pulling me in for a quick hug and I remembered that it was Vlad who I thought was comforting me, but as he told me later, he only tried to tell me that Bones was alive.

The door of the car opened and Ashley ran to me, her eyes filled with unshed tears. She only let them fall once she was embracing me, sobbing into my clothes. I knelt on one knee to be on the same eye level, returning her embrace.

It almost looked as I was the one who got shot, but I guess it almost ended that way. After all, I was so close to pulling the trigger. I'm sure this would be for a long discussion with Bones later. But for now, just like Bones said, there was one thing still remaining. Once we were back in the car, Vlad released his burning fury on the building, burning it to the ground while the rest of us, including the vampires we saved from the mind control, watched the structure burn and die in the flames.

After everything that happened, we all needed a rest and decided to discuss the plans in the morning. Vlad made a few phone calls with his contacts in Romania, who were on a hunt for the perfect family while we were dealing with Ash's father. She would be going to Romania with Vlad as soon as she's rested.

The morning seemed to come too soon, none of us said a word about the last night and we focused on Ashley. I helped her with the packing, though we didn't have a choice to buy many things for her. She was quiet during the whole process and the fact that she was folding her things as slowly as she could didn't matter to me.

On one hand I was happy that she could be away from all the danger and bad memories, but on the other, I'll really miss the kid. She had a strong character and with the right training, I could see her joining our team in few years. I told her about the idea and she only agreed, saying that it would make catching the bad guys easier. After all, no one would expect a little girl to go after them.

Later in the day, we gather on the airport. Vlad's plane was already waiting for Ash to board. Juan was the first one to say his goodbyes, he took her in his arms, lifting her of the ground and whispered something in her ear, half in Spanish, half in English. She chuckled as he put her back on her feet.

Bones promised to keep in touch with her and even that we'd go see her soon, to which I only agreed, considering that Vlad would also appreciate a visit from his friends. Ashley wrapped her arms around Bones and her eyes were filling with tears, but she held them back.

I pulled her in my arms, barely holding my own tears back, "I'll see you soon, alright Ash? And don't forget that you have a spot in my team."

She nodded, "I'll be waiting and Vlad promised to train me, too." With her last comment, I shot a look at Vlad who shrugged and avoided my eyes.

"Just don't teach her the wrong stuff, please Vlad." I let a laugh escape my lungs, covering the sob. Then I gave her another hug and let her return to Vlad, who took her hand in his and led her to the plane. She turned around few times, waving her hand goodbye at we all did the same until the plane took off.

"We have another soon-to-be Cat on our hands." Juan laughed when I punched him in his rips. "She's a sweet kid, that's all I'm saying, querida."

"Having a little crush going on there?" I joked, wiping my eyes. He laughed and we returned to the car, heading home. Just another day in the office, as someone would say, but we made another strong ally, even though it's just a little girl. For what it's worth, she could be stronger than any of us and we wouldn't know about it.

Back in our house, I asked Bones about what happened. He told me that Ashley's father controlled his and Vlad's mind before we entered the building, but lost the control when he needed his powers to control me. It only took them a moment to get back in the building and find us. Only Juan had control of his actions, but he stayed back as Bones instructed.

When it came down to pulling the trigger, I missed Bones' heart by few inches, it didn't do as much as knock him out for a little while. Vlad had Ashley's father under his grasp by then and when Bones' wound heal, he beat the crap out of the old man and Vlad then burned his body.

"If only I'd considered the possibility, you wouldn't have to go through it." Bones gave out a sigh, pulling me closer to him. We were lying in our bed, our bodies pressed close together. Bones refused to answer any question until he made me realized just how undead he still was.

"I thought I lost you." my voice trembled at the thought. "I wouldn't be able to handle it."

He kissed my trembling lips, "I wouldn't do it to you, I swear. Because I know that if it came down to it, you would follow me and that's the last thing I want you to do."

"You said it yourself, that you would always be with me. I'd do the same for you, Bones." I whispered, looking straight into his dark eyes. His lips curved into a smile as he shifted his weight to pin me down under him.

"Then we both have to make sure to stay alive, Kitten." Another kiss landed on my lips. "Because I won't lose you, ever, that Kitten, I swear to you."

* * *

So, this is it, the end. I want to say thank you to all of you who kept reading until the end and I'm grateful for all your reviews. I hope you enjoyed the story. Who knows, maybe I'll write another one in the future but I'm not promising anything.  
Anyway, thanks again.


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